Another Post reporter, Jose Del Real, replied to Sonmez’s tweet with two tweets of his own, acknowledging that Weigel’s retweet was “terrible and unacceptable,” but urging her to accept his apology instead of “rallying the internet to attack him for a mistake he made,” which “doesn’t actually solve anything.”

“Felicia, we all mess up from time to time,” Del Real wrote. “Engaging in repeated and targeted public harassment of a colleague is neither a good look nor is it particularly effective. It turns the language of inclusivity into clout chasing and bullying. I don’t think this is appropriate…There is such a thing as challenging with compassion.”

This only incensed Sonmez further, who then tweeted a thread directed at Del Real arguing that she had just been standing up for herself (it should perhaps be noted that Weigel’s retweet did not mention her or involve her at all), but had gotten “even more vitriol” and “publicly attacked” by Del Real in response. In another tweet in the thread, she objected to Del Real’s criticism and tagged editors Buzbee and Gold, bluntly asking them if the Post agreed with her view.